mile

n 1: a unit of length equal to 1760 yards [syn: {statute mile}, {stat

mi}, {land mile}, {mi}]

2: a unit of length used in navigation; equivalent to the

distance spanned by one second of arc in latitude; 1,852

meters [syn: {nautical mile}, {mi}, {naut mi}, {knot}, {international

nautical mile}, {air mile}]

3: a large distance; "he missed by a mile"

4: a former British unit of length once used in navigation;

equivalent to 1828.8 meters (6000 feet) [syn: {sea mile}]

5: a British unit of length equivalent to 1,853.18 meters

(6,082 feet) [syn: {nautical mile}, {naut mi}, {mi}, {geographical

mile}, {Admiralty mile}]

6: an ancient Roman unit of length equivalent to 1620 yards

[syn: {Roman mile}]

7: a Swedish unit of length equivalent to 10 km [syn: {Swedish

mile}]

8: a footrace extending one mile; "he holds the record in the

mile"

file

An element of data storage in a {file system}.

The history of computing is rich in varied kinds of files and

{file systems}, whether ornate (e.g., {Macintosh file system}

for a well-known case) or deficient (e.g., many simple

pre-1980s file systems don't allow {directories}).

However, the prototypical file has these characteristics:

▫ It is a single sequence of bytes (but consider {Macintosh}

{resource forks}).

▫ It has a finite length, unlike, e.g. a {Unix} {device}.

▫ It is stored in a {non-volatile storage} medium (but see

{ramdrive}).

▫ It exists (nominally) in a {directory}.

▫ It has a name that it can be referred to by in file

operations, possibly in combination with its {path}.

Additionally, a file system may associate other information

with a file, such as {permission} bits or other {file

attributes}; timestamps for file creation, last revision, and

last access; revision numbers (a` la VMS), and other kinds of

{magic}.

(1997-04-08)